Tag team
by Hiarashi
Summary: When a simple field trip goes wrong; Manjoume finds himself stranded on a small island with the person he hates the most. Did I mention they are sharing the island with a gang of thieving hitmen? (Manjoume/Judai pairing)
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

A/N: My next big project which yet again may never get completed unless reviews are spamming the crap outta my inbox. However, as of now, it's here and I'm working on it so…

Rivalshipping…ready, set, GO!

* * *

"Wow Shou! You've improved!" The two-toned brunette flashed his trademark smile up at his best friend across the table. "I think we might be evenly matched! Isn't that awesome?"

The smaller, bespectacled boy clutched his cards nervously and peered over his frames at his beaming friend with a doubtful expression. "Aniki…you better not be going easy on me! This is our last duel before we have to get to bed! We have a field trip tomorrow you know!"

Judai frowned at this and then shot quick glance to the clock on the nightstand. He then returned his gaze back to the shorter boy wearing a bit of a puzzled look. "Eh? It's not even 7 yet! We can have one more round! Besides..." He trademark smile danced its way back onto his face once more. "I haven't been going easy on you! It's all you, Shou!"

Shou responded by reclining back in his chair, closing his eyes, and letting out a deep sigh. Slowly, he opened them back up again and let his gaze wander over toward the clock as to confirm Judai's protest. 6:53…perhaps maybe there was still time for another duel…

Or there would have been. Had not the front door burst open and slam shut; causing both boys to jump about from the abruptness of it all. They both turned their heads in sync to the source which had strolled in. There stood their third roommate; wearing his same black trench coat, usual frown, and carrying the weight of a sour atmosphere as always. His normal but base-lacking agitation apparent on his face as he glared their way.

"Oi, oi! You two are still awake?"

'Yep, there went any chance of another duel. No way would Manjoume let them keep him up from his beauty sleep. They'd have better luck getting a hug from Chronos-sensei.' Shou shivered at that last thought and was immediately startled before he could think any more by Judai's laughter filling the air.

"Ahahaha! I guess we were having so much fun; we lost track of time! We're almost done, right Shou?"

Shou pursed his lips together into a nervous smile. "Yeah, we should be finished really soon. Sorry, Manjoume."

"That's Manjoume-sanda to you." He responded without looking up from kicking off his shoes followed by slipping off his black coat and tossing it onto the back of the chair of which the smallest boy sat. Shou nearly jumped out of his seat from this and turned toward the black-haired boy in full; signs of alarm all apparent on his face.

"Sorry, sorry! Manjoume-sanda. I forgot." Shou blurted out; sounding as if he was ready to cry at any minute.

Judai let out another laugh; a bit more gentle then his last. "Don't worry Shou; Manjoume's probably just tired which is why he's acting kinda grumpy. Right, Manjoume?" He turned back to the Ebony-haired boy with a wide grin which Manjoume returned with a scowl.

"Sanda! San-da! You really are an idiot with no manners!" He stormed past the two and crawled up to his bunk, threw the covers over himself and flipped over with his back facing them. "If you're going to finish, then keep it down." They heard his muffled voice from the top bunk say. "I'd like to be up early to get a decent meal before we have to board the ferry."

A frown formed onto Judai's face. "Are you sure you don't want to stay up and watch? You can duel one of us afterward!" He turned his head up in the direction of the dark-haired boy and flashed him a smile. The paler boy then responded by flipping over and looking at him liked he had just asked him to set his deck on fire.

"Are you really that much of an idiot or did you not pay attention to the announcement every day in class for the past few weeks about us having a field trip EARLY IN THE MORNING?" He finished the last of his sentence with a bit of a growl; causing Shou to wince. Although despite how obvious it was; the venom in his words didn't seem to stir any negative emotions in the brunette. His smile still danced as brightly as it always did upon his face.

"Haha! How could I forget? I've been so pumped to see the new tag team duel stadium! I wonder what it'll be like?" Judai's eyes sparkled with the enthusiasm of his voice as he went quiet into thought.

Shou turned toward his friend with an eager look of his own. "It's supposed to be the best one yet! Everything is supposed to seem so real! Even the monsters are suppose to seem like you touch them! I heard you can feel the heat from fire attacks and the cold air from ice attacks too! And the best part is, we all are going to get a chance to duel in it!"

Judai's eyes shot open wide at his smile exploded like a firework in the sky.

"Oh wow! I can't wait! Come on then Shou! We better hurry and finish up! This is gonna be so awesome!"

A loud scoff was heard from the top bunk. "It won't be if you two idiots keep talking and don't finish up soon."

Judai laughed at this. "Sounds like Manjoume's really excited to hang out with everyone on the field trip tomorrow and he wants to be awake and having loads of fun, right Manjoume?"

Manjoume shot up at this; anger scorching his facial features. "I NEVER SAID….ugh! Never mind!" He laid back down and flipped back over toward the wall with an audible 'hmph!' escaping his lips. "Just finish up already, will you?"

"We will!" The two chimed in unison and resumed their previous duel.

. . .

"Ehhhhh? We're not in the same group?"

Both Judai and Shou exchanged looks of shock and then back up at their 'temporary' principal.

"Precisely! Since Mr. Marufuji is now in Ra Yellow; he will not be taking the ferry along with you lower Osiris Reds, no ne!"

They both watched their teacher then push through the crowd of students to make his way over to the Obelisk-colored boat and the front of the line for it. Their gazes then fell on both the yellow and red boats that were docked alongside it.

Shou let out a disappointed sigh and turned back toward his best friend. "I'm sorry, Aniki. I guess I should have just stayed in Osiris..."

Judai's face went blank for a moment before the usual smile resurfaced. "Don't worry about it Shou! It's just for the boat ride! We'll still hang out and have all the fun when we get there!"

A small smile grazed Shou's lips as he felt himself become hopeful from his big brother's words. "Okay Aniki!"

"Pfft…idiots."

They both looked up toward the source of the voice to find Manjoume strolling up beside them; his steel-colored gaze set on the red ferry. He then set down his small bag he had slung over his shoulder and turned to face the two. "You both act like it's the end of the world. It's just a field trip, you know."

Shou frowned at this. He honestly was quite jealous of Manjoume; him being lucky and able to go on the same boat as his best friend and all. It really wasn't fair when he thought about it. Manjoume didn't even want anything to do with any of them and here he was; taking the spot that Shou felt should belong to him. What he wouldn't give to trade spots. He wondered for a brief moment if he brought it up; maybe Manjoume would let him. It's not like the black Osiris wanted to be there anyway. However, before he could say anything; Judai's voice broke through.

"Manjoume…" At this firm tone, the black haired boy turned his full attention on the brunette whose expression changed from serious to smiling in a matter of seconds. "You know, all you had to do was ask! We'd love to hang out with you too when we get there! It'll be fun with the three of us!" The cheery Osiris then startled both boys by wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders and bringing them in closer. Shou cast a nervous look down at his feet and Manjoume bitterly yanked himself out from under Judai's arm; his expression venomous.

"Don't assume I want to be around you! This is my chance to get away from you idiots! Being stuck in that little room with you has been the worst!" He spat out.

Judai's expression went blank and he responded by cocking his head at the fuming black-haired boy. "Come on, Manjoume! You know it'll be much more fun if we all…" He was cut off by a loud ringing followed by Professor Chronos stuttering into a microphone up front. A hush fell over the crowd as their 'temporary' principal cleared his throat loudly.

"Attention all students at duel academia! In a few minutes you will be boarding your respective boats! We will start with the Blues boarding first, Yellows second and lastly and naturally of course; Reds will be last of them no ne. When you reach the front; you will be handed a wristband which has a tracking device on it no ne." At this he held up what looked to be like a black wristwatch. "Each of these have en gemello, a twin no ne. They will show you a compass on how far away the other one is. You will take which one is given to you and find who has the other on the boat and that will be your partner for the trip no ne!" He paused and looked amongst the crowd of students. "Good! Now if you will all line up to your respective boats; we can began the boarding, no ne!"

Shou then turned worriedly over to his best friend "Aniki! This is horrible! Since I've been staying in the Red Dorm; I don't know hardly any of the Yellows! What if I get partnered with someone who's a better duelist than me? The stadium is for tag teams! My partner will be upset if I hold them back." Shou bit his lip and cast his gaze on the ground. "I really, really should have stayed in Osiris Red…"

"You'll do great Shou." Shou looked up in surprise at his friend who was looking back at him with a sincere smile. "I know you. You're an amazing duelist. Everyone will be amazed at how great you are, you'll see!" Judai clapped him on the shoulder which Shou responded with a hopeful smile.

"Aniki…"

"Oi! You guys!"

Both boys turned to see Misawa and Kenzan waving at them. Misawa cupped a hand around his mouth to allow his voice to carry a little more.

"Shou! We're over here! Come line up with us!"

Shou once again cast a nervous glance in Judai's direction and back at the other two. He really didn't like the idea of leaving his big bro all alone….

"Come on saurus! We're not gonna save this spot in line forever, don!" The voice of Kenzan boomed over toward their direction clear as day. Misawa frowned and covered one ear as to avoid Kenzan's voice breaking in.

Shou gave one last look toward his big bro. "Aniki…I…"

"Go on Shou!" Judai smiled and gave a wink accompanied by a thumb up. "We'll see each other when we get there. Maybe we'll even get to duel each other!"

At this, Shou expression became one of pure relief. He broke into a full smile. "Yeah! I can't wait! I promise I'll meet up with you later Aniki!"

Judai held out his fist which Shou returned with a bump of his own "That's a promise I'll keep too, Shou!"

* * *

END REVIEW: The first chapter is always the hardest. I never know how I wanna open and I get so impatient to get to the main plot. Never thought I'd get into a GX pairing but rivalshipping has so much good chemistry to it and it's so overshadowed by spiritshipping that I couldn't help but want to give it some attention!


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

A/N: My bad, my bad; between holiday and getting freakin' sick this was put on delay but here you go. Enjoy!

* * *

Vice Principal Napoleon wrinkled his nose in disgust at the hideous red vessel that was docked next to the other two as if it had equal worth. Had it been HIS choice; none of those students would be going at all. They wouldn't even BE students at this school! It didn't matter either way though because he was about to fix that. He turned his attention to Principal Chronos who had just gotten off the microphone and was busy directing some of the faculty toward the ferries to give out the compass-bands. He cleared his throat as a means to get the taller man's attention.

"Excuse me Principal Chronos; but I have an urgent call to take. It shouldn't be no more than a few minutes, de aru. I will be joining you on the Obelisk boat shortly after, de aru."

Being too preoccupied with other matters at hand; he merely just waved him off. "Yes,e yes of course! I will see you in a bit then, Vice Principal Napoleon. I first need to find a substitute guide for the Red Ferry since the Head is still missing, no ne." He raised a delicate hand dramatically to his forehead at this. "Mama mia! Why does this job as principal have to be so complicated, no ne?"

The so-called Vice Principal upturned his lips in a dark grin. His idea already on-set into play. "No need for that, Principal Chronos. I have already seen to it that there is a substitute on the boat for them. It's _d'accord;_already taken care of de aru."

The temporary Principal, oblivious to the tone of the shorter man, didn't even blink twice at this. "I see, good work no ne. Go ahead and take care of your phone call then no ne." With that, he turned his attention elsewhere; allowing the temporary vice-principal to slip through the crowd to a quieter area and pull out a small blue cell phone. Holding it to his ear and speaking in a hushed tone.

"Bonjour! Have you gotten everything ready to go, de aru? They are loading the students on the boats now. Yes of course, it's fine de aru! You can handle it however you see fit! Oh. just make sure they are still aliv….eh de aru?" He pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it in confusion. "Seems my call has just dropped de aru. I hope they did hear me when I said to keep them alive? Le sigh de aru."

. . .

If there was one person Manjoume Jun could not handle; it was Yuki Judai. The boy was truly a complete idiot who seemed to have his way no matter what was thrown at him. If there were any dueling gods; they seem to favor and delight in watching him win. Where as Manjoume in comparison…

The ebony-haired boy growled softly. He was by no means favored by these 'so-called' gods. In fact, he was the sole proof that these 'gods' most likely didn't even exist! It was because of his luck (or lack there of) versus Judai's that he had so much dislike for the boy.

And yet…

Though his hatred for the brunette brewed strong; he also felt deep admiration. He wondered how was it that he could feel so drawn to someone he hated so much? He did _hate _the boy, didn't he? Of course he did! He shouldn't even need to question that! Yuki Judai was by no means worth anything to 'The Sanda'.

Which is exactly why he felt his stomach sink when he saw the person a few feet across the deck that his compass seemed to be trying to pick up. The object of his hatred stood merely a few feet away. He had a look of deep concentration etched on his face as he glanced around and back at his own wrist. Manjoume guessed the idiot had no clue how to use the compass band. He averted his gaze from the eyesore and let his gaze wander around at the other students on the boat. Maybe he could just hide for a bit amongst the crowd? Maybe he could even try to swap his band for another? Yes! That might work! He could just…

He almost choked on his own breath from the overly-enthusiastic shout that broke his thoughts. "Ehh? Manjoume? You're my partner?" The airy brunette made his way over with a smile that made Manjoume's stomach turn. "Wow! Talk about lucky! Man, I'm feeling so pumped now! This is gonna be an awesome field trip! I just know it!"

Manjoume wanted to just dive off the side right then and there; or push Judai over it. Both sounded like pretty good options.

Yeah…about that so-called 'luck' of his…

. . .

Within the captains quarters sat a lean and rattled young man about in his early twenties. He was constantly bouncing his right knee and running his hands through his thick black hair. His light wild eyes screamed extra loud amongst his dark features. He scanned his surroundings once more until his eyes landed on the middle-aged man standing at the helm a few feet from him. He clicked his tongue a few times before speaking up.

"How much longer til we're at the island?" He barked in the older man's direction.

The lighter skinned man seemed not stirred in the least by his tone and kept focus on his driving; giving a quick glance at his companion and back out the front dash once more. His baritone voice carried its steady reply without as much as a flinch. "I'd say 'bout 20-30 minutes...give or take. Want me to radio our little lady friend?" He flashed a broken, toothy grin.

The younger man stood up and exposed a dark grin of his own. "Might as well, don't let her know you called her that though. She'll slit your damned throat and eat your damn windpipe out."

. . .

"OI! I SAID QUIT HELPING YOURSELF! DIDN'T YOU BRING YOUR OWN LUNCH?"

Judai dropped the rice ball in surprise and looked up at the fuming pale boy guiltily. "Haha, my bad! I guess I was so excited for the trip that I forgot to pack something to eat."

A loud grumble resounded through the air, followed by another guilty laugh from Judai. The black-coated Osiris groaned and slapped a hand to his forehead. He certainly hadn't packed enough for two; and Judai ate like a starving man. Why he even felt the need to share with him was beyond his comprehension. He settled with the excuse that Judai, being his tag-team partner, needed food if he wanted him to duel well. Yeah, that seemed believable enough…

"Fine! Fine! We'll split what I have, you happy?" He glared at the clueless boy who then broke into a smile so big; you'd almost think he was just told it was Christmas morning.

"Really?! You're awesome, Manjoume! Thank you!"

Before Manjoume could even formulate a response; a light voice made its way to his ears; one that neither of the boys could possibly possess.

"Excuse me boys. I'm sorry to interrupt your meal but can I have your names?"

Manjoume looked up into the face of one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen in his life. Her eyes were that of a hazel green color which danced well with her dark olive tone skin. Her long black hair framed her face and skirted down her shoulders like a perfect china doll and for a moment Manjoume felt he was betraying his precious Tenjouin-kun. Although he still had yet to completely win her over; he was certain it wouldn't take much longer for the female Obelisk to accept and return his feelings.

He dropped his gaze a bit to the low-cut white top the woman wore which hugged her chest quite nicely and blushed deeply. To be faced with such a beautiful temptress was merely a test. This was something the Great Manjoume Thunder could handle if he played his cards just right. He bravely let his gaze wander back to the alluring beauty face only to have his thoughts shattered by his annoying classmate.

"Yuki Judai!" He spoke with a mouth full of rice that flew like little bullets with each syllable he accented. Manjoume felt his stomach turn as a look of distaste flickered over the lovely woman's face. He shot Judai the angriest glare he could muster up and then quickly turned back to the woman, face apologetic and sincere.

"Forgive my, partner's, manners." He choked a bit on the word 'partner', earning a fine-lined brow-raise from the woman. "I'm Manjoume Jun. Perhaps you've heard of me, miss? I'm one of the top duelists at this school, you know?" He broke out his most charming smile he could; hoping to get some recognition from such a lovely face.

Perhaps he would have if things had gone his way. But then, Judai wouldn't let that now would he?

"Wait, you didn't give us your name? You're too old to be a student. Hmm…are you our tour guide?" Judai cocked his head to one side in confusion. Manjoume felt his face heat up in both anger and embarrassment. Of all the stupid, impolite…

"Oh! You're our new dorm leader, right! Odd, I thought you'd be a guy! You're not a guy, right?" The brunette's eyes went wide as he waited for a response from the older woman while as Manjoume just closed his eyes slowly; cursing his existence and luck for the millionth time that day. He opened them up to find a horrified expression upon the lady's face whilst Judai wore a look of pride. One would have guessed he had just discovered a rare find or something. He reached out and smacked the idiot on the back of the head.

"Oi! You don't ask stupid questions like that! What's the matter with you?"

Judai looked over at Manjoume with a frown while rubbing the back of his head. "What? It's not stupid if I don't know the answer. You really didn't have to hit me Manjoume."

"Of course I did! What you asked was rude and…"

A laugh much like light bells tinkling cut him off. Both boys turned to find the woman crouched down now at their level, chuckling softly. "My goodness, I guess I should have introduced myself first if this was how off-topic we were going to get. My name is Takumi Machi and to answer question, yes, I am a female tour guide of this boat.

Manjoume paled at this. "Miss, you don't have to…"

"Please, call me Machi. And it's no trouble at all, really. In fact, it quite amuses me how lively of a bunch all of you are. It seems to me this is going to be a really, really fun trip." She smiled brightly, causing both boys to blush crimson. Rising to her feet slowly, she turned on heel and cast a look over her shoulder. "Well, I think that is all the passengers I've accounted for. It was nice getting to know you two and I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip." She took a few steps before turning around and facing them once more with an apparent look of surprise on her face, making both of them jump by the abrupt action. "Oh! I almost forgot! I'll be needing your decks!" She outstretched her hand in a receiving gesture. "For precautionary measures, students have been known to use this opportunity to cheat among other things. Your cards must be registered as is now. We can't have any alterations for that would make for an unfair fight. We like our tournaments to be clean and fun, am I right?" She emphasized her words with a shining smile and Manjoume felt he could trust her with his life at this point. He didn't waste a second to reach into his back pouch, retrieve his deck, and hold it out in her direction. He felt his heart rise in throat as she smiled softly and took it from his hands, fingers brushed and her eyes never once left his. His face dived crimson however when she slipped the deck into between her cleavage line. Ever so neatly tucked away that he couldn't even see it. How a deep part of him wished to be his deck right now…

He was broken out of his trance by a deep 'hmm' coming from the boy next to him. His gaze then transformed back into its usually glare as he turned to see the boy as clueless as ever. Sometimes he wondered if this idiot even knew what a girl was! He heard the woman clear her throat and she held out her hand for the red-vested boy to place his deck in; her smile emerging across her face once more. Manjoume's eyes once more darted to where he was sure his deck was neatly tucked away and his blush resurfaced again.

"Yuki-kun…you're deck?" Her face remained smiling but solemn as she opened and closed her outstretched hand once.

Judai bit his lip and ever so slowly reached around to unhook his case and handed it to her hesitantly. He cleared his throat as she took the case from his hands. "When will we get them back?"

Manjoume scoffed. "Idiot! Can you possibly be any more ru..!"

His outburst however died on his lips as she held her hand upward to silence him. "A very good question, Yuki-kun. Do not worry though; this is only for the boat ride. The moment we step foot on land; you will have your deck returned safe and sound in your hands once more." Yet again, she emphasized her words with that charming smile of hers and then slowly rose to her feet. "Sorry for all the trouble I may have caused you boys. You may now get back to finishing your lunches. I will see you both when we land, alright?" She turned her gaze to Manjoume and gave a small wink. The black Osiris felt like he could fly at that point.

At least, he did for a few moments before Judai's annoying voice broke his thoughts.

"Boy am I starving! Manjoume, do you have any more rice balls by chance?"

Instead of arguing, he picked up the box and thrust it in the brunette's direction. He had long lost his appetite anyway. "It's Sanda! And don't you forget it Yuki Judai!"

. . .

'One more hour…just one more hour!'

It had only been a half-hour since they had boarded the boat. Everyone had had lunch and Manjoume felt like he was going to strangle something.

Well…more like someone.

There was ABSOLUTELY no way he was going to survive as Yuki Judai's tag-team partner! The boy was driving him up the wall. His mouth was none stop running about all the things he hoped the arena to be and how excited he was to duel so many different people. Excited, excited, excited! The idiot must have dropped that same damn word so many times that Manjoume was sure he was going to be hearing it in his sleep later tonight like a bad song stuck in his head.

"…And I can't wait to see Shou! Misawa and Kenzan too! Oh, and of course Asuka! I'm sure she'll be really fun to duel! This is gonna be so exciting!"

Manjoume spun on full heel; startling Judai to a halt. He wore a deathly expression at the mention of the female Obelisk's name.

"Don't you even THINK of addressing Tenjouin-kun in such an informal manner! You are not by any means on personal level with her! Use her name with some respect!"

Judai's expression blanked for a moment before he slowly once again resurfaced a smile. His next words were what broke it for the black osiris.

"Of course I am! Asuka's my friend! I'm the same with her as I am with all my friends! You too Manjoume!"

"We are NOT friends! We never were friends! WE WILL NEVER BE FRIENDS! Ugh! I can't believe my rotten luck! You're damn lucky we're getting graded on this Yuki Judai! If we weren't; I would have already backed out! I don't want to be anywhere near you! I don't even want to breathe the same air as you! I despise you and want nothing more than to see you di…"

His words left unfinished as the boat gave a dangerous lurched and caused a majority of panic from everyone. An alarm began to sound as another lurch of the boat occurred. This time, it was enough to throw a good portion of the students off balance. Manjoume reached out and gripped the railing behind him. In his panic to grasp onto something; he somehow managed to give a quick glance at his surroundings. It was as if he was seeing something out of a movie. He watched a few students bump their heads on the rails and other objects. Some even so hard he could see blood trickle upon their foreheads. He could have sworn that through his shock he also felt a sickening grinding below his feet. Had they gone over a rocky area? How shallow were the waters they were in anyway? A grip on his arm awoke him from his thoughts and he turned to be met by a pair of big frightened eyes. A streak of terror trembled through him then. Something about seeing that look in Judai's face made him feel helpless and terrified. Judai opened his mouth. The voice that came out was much more confident then one would assume looking into those terrified eyes. It was that fact that actually allowed some relief to flow through the paler boy.

"Manjoume…the boat, it's…"

Another lurch and the black-haired boy then did something that he for sure would later deny. He wrapped his right arm around Judai's shoulders as his left hand clung for dear life onto the railing behind them. He was going to make sure that no matter what; neither one of them were going to get hurt. Though he had been pretty sure that not even a minute ago he had terribly wanted that same boy dead which he was now trying to keep alive.

And of course, it was that same boy who after about the fifth or sixth lurch of the boat (the black Osiris had long lost count); he accidently let slip out of his grasp and watched in horror as he was thrown into the adjacent railing and knocked unconscious.

That was the last sight Jun Manjoume saw before he himself was thrown in another direction and his head hit something hard and cold. He was sure he had heard a sickening crack. Either that the boat had crashed or his head had split open.

He fuckin' hoped it wasn't the latter.

* * *

END REVIEW: Finally we're moving along! I'm actually excited to get to the next few chapters myself. Expect updates soon and reviews make me smile!


End file.
